thumb|right|250px|U.S. Post Office in St. Helen

St. Helen is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Roscommon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,735 at the 2020 census. St. Helen is located within Richfield Township.

History

In the 1870s, lumber baron Henry Stephens established a large lumber operation at St. Helen, considered at the time to be among the largest and best equipped in the state. The mills were estimated to have produced more than of lumber within a period of fourteen years. Most of the logs were moved by river, but lumber was also moved by rail.

The St. Helen Development Company was organized to sell land and promote development of the area, and over seven years sold of land and helped to build more than of roads and over of fencing.

St. Helen was named after the lake. It is believed that French voyageurs named it after Saint Helena of Constantinople, mother of Emperor Constantine.

The Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad (later the Michigan Central, then the Detroit and Mackinac Railway and presently the Lake State Railway Company) built a line through the area with a station at St. Helen. M-76 passes through St. Helen and portions are still signed as "Old 76".

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (13.44%) is water.

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, St. Helen had a population of 2,735. The median age was 54.1 years. 14.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 27.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 108.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 108.5 males age 18 and over.

92.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,380 households in St. Helen, of which 15.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.9% were married-couple households, 27.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The Charlton Heston Academy in St. Helen is named after him.

References

Further reading

  • Diss, Peggy. The Heritage of Richfield Township, St. Helen. Roscommon, MI: Graphic Arts Press, 1976.
  • St. Helen Chamber of Commerce